Domain registrar
The company that rents you the name. Often a different login from the one that edits the pages.
What does Domain registrar mean?
The company where you register and renew a domain name. It is the account that can point the name at a host, and it may not be the company that designed the site.
Also called: registrar
Where the renewal actually goes
Registrars sell the right to use a domain for a period, then bill you to keep it. GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains' successors, and a long list of others do this job. Your website builder might be a registrar too, which is why the roles blur.
Look at who emails you about expiration. That company is a strong clue. The DNS screen inside that account is the control panel for where the name points. If you cannot find that screen, you do not fully control the move to a new site.
Access before any redesign
Ask for the login before kickoff, not the night the new pages are ready. Reset the password if a former helper still has it. Add a second person at the business so a vacation does not freeze a launch.
Artol does not need to transfer the name into our account to build the site. Pointing the website records is enough. A transfer is a separate, slower process with its own confirmation emails. Do it only when you have a reason to leave that registrar.
Bundles that hide the bill
Some builders include the first year of a domain and then renew it at a higher price, or they only include a new name, not a name you already own. Read the renewal line before you treat the domain as free. Prices change, and the checkout page is the price.
The GoDaddy comparison talks about the builder and the hosting bundle, not about a requirement to move your registration. Keeping the name where it is remains a valid choice.
An example
A landscaper's nephew registered the domain years ago on a personal card. The builder login was a second product. Before a rebuild, the owner recovered the registrar password, put the business card on the renewal, and only then booked the new site. The pages were the easy half.
Questions we get asked
Is Artol my registrar?
No. We host the site. You keep the registrar account, and we tell you which records to change or we change them with you on the line. The yearly name renewal is not the $249/mo hosting fee.
What if my builder and my registrar are the same login?
That is common. You can still point the name at a new host, or you can move the registration later. Do not cancel the builder until the name answers from the new host and mail still arrives. See moving off GoDaddy if that is the login you have.
